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“Most recently, in 2004, Democrats flexed their political muscle to prevent a documentary that was critical of presidential candidate John Kerry from airing on Sinclair Broadcast Group, FredCampbell, a Forbes contributor, reported.”

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“Many of the same Democrats ‘mastered the art of threatening FCC investigations’ in response to broadcaster coverage they deem to be a partisan attack, Tech Knowledge Director FredCampbell wrote in a Forbes piece Tuesday pointing to political outcry that Sinclair faced over its 2004 plans to air a documentary critical of presidential candidate John Kerry (see 0410130161). If Democrats believe the FCC can investigate broadcast licenses based on broadcasters’ editorial decisions, then ‘they have no grounds to ask the current FCC chairman to repudiate Congress’ intent,’ he said.”

“One of those helping make broadcasters’ case against the proposal is Fred Campbell, former FCC Wireless Bureau chief and currently heading up the think tank, The Center for Boundless Innovation.

Campbell argues that some of the same folks pushing for Local Choice-proposed by Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WVa.)-are also pushing just as hard against government regulation of free market Internet negotiations-such as paid peering Internet traffic exchange arrangements.

‘Thune’s embrace of the intellectual basis for the ‘Local Choice proposal’-which inherently distrusts market negotiations between the operators of cable ‘pipes’ and content providers-represents a tipping point in the battle over net neutrality,’ Campbell says. ‘If Thune doesn’t believe market negotiations are capable of producing fair outcomes for pay-TV customers with respect to television content, how does he plan to justify relying on the free market to produce fair outcomes for Internet content?'”

“Center for Boundless Innovation in Technology Executive Director FredCampbell reshaped one of his August blog posts (CD Aug 29 p7) into a Wednesday op-ed for The Hill (http://bit.ly/1t0On8L), arguing there’s a ‘direct link between the Local Choice proposal and net neutrality’ philosophically and urging Thune to ‘kill the proposal’ to stay ideologically consistent.”

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“Local Choice may simply be ‘August reverie,’ said Center for Boundless Innovation in Technology Executive Director Fred Campbell in a blog post (http://bit.ly/1sOl6OL), expressing surprise at Thune’s purported involvement. He said Local Choice would apparently ‘do nothing’ about the dispute between Time Warner Cable and DirecTV over the Los Angeles Dodgers games. ‘Would Senator Thune introduce a bill to end blackouts that leaves the biggest blackout of the year completely untouched?’ Campbell said. ‘Unlikely. To the extent Senator Thune believes that mandating à la carte is the right solution for blackouts, he would presumably apply it to all video programming channels — broadcast, cable, satellite, and online.’ He compared the retrans overhaul advocates to advocates for strong net neutrality rules, partly amounting to his surprise at Thune’s involvement: ‘ATVA’s campaign to prohibit market negotiations between pay-TV operators and broadcasters represents a page right out of the net neutrality playbook,’ Campbell remarked.”

“Allowing TV stations to innovate and compete in the multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) and wireless broadband market segments can be achieved through comprehensive, market-based regulatory reform, said a Center for Boundless Innovation in Technology report. The report was led by Fred Campbell, CBIT director and former FCC Wireless Bureau chief. Old regulations, like the free-television mandate, the prohibition on broadcasters offering cable channels and broadcast spectrum limitations, should be eliminated to allow TV networks and local affiliate stations to work together, it said (http://bit.ly/1paf7TF). Repealing only the regulations enabling TV stations to meet their public interest obligations would result in the forced abandonment or sale of TV stations at ‘fire-sale prices, thus destroying the legitimate, investment-backed expectations of TV stations through government action,’ the report said.”

TR Daily covered the CBIT white paper titled “The Future of Broadcast Television,” noting that “rather than the status quo supported by broadcasters or a deregulatory approach that maintains public interest obligations for broadcasters supported by multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDS), broadcasters should be allowed to transition their businesses to a free market approach.”

“Conservatives want either a clean STELA reauthorization or its expiration, suggested Center for Boundless Innovation in Technology Executive Director Fred Campbell. In a Thursday blog post (http://bit.ly/1nibqM6), he tallied recent entreaties from Americans for Limited Government, the American Consumer Institute and Frontiers of Freedom that Senate Commerce advance a clean STELA bill. ‘Conservatives are offering the right counsel,’ Campbell said.”

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In an article available HERE, Bloomberg quoted CBIT Director Fred Campbell regarding the current FCC approach to broadcast regulation:

“Changes being considered by the FCC are ‘creating uncertainty about the future of over-the-air broadcasting’ Fred Campbell, who was wireless bureau chief at the agency under Republican leadership, said in an interview. ‘If you’re sending the signal their future is not going to be bright, they have to say to themselves, maybe I’m better off in the auction,’ Campbell said.”

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